Autopsy: Kansas woman was beaten to death with shovel

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Court records indicate a 42-year-old woman who was killed in Wichita in November apparently was beaten to death with a shovel.

Perla Rodriguez, outreach director for the Wichita Area Sexual Assault Center, was found dead in her home Nov. 14. Her boyfriend, 37-year-old Travis Becker Jr., has been charged with first-degree murder.

KAKE report s a probable cause affidavit states when Wichita officers forced their way into Rodriguez’s home, they found her with several traumatic injuries to her head and throat. They also found a wooden handle shovel inside the bedroom, with the shovel blade covered in blood and hair.

Becker was arrested at his sister’s home in Olathe. He remains jailed on $250,000 bond.